Thirteen years and 110 matches. That’s how long it had
been since the Drew University men’s tennis team had lost to
a conference opponent. Then they faced The University of Scranton
on Thursday evening.

The Royals rallied from a 3-0 deficit after doubles to stun the
Rangers, 5-4, at Royal Courts at DeNaples Fields, ending one of the
most impressive streaks in college tennis. Drew’s streak
stretched all the way back to the spring of 2000 and included 12
straight conference championships.

And it all ended in dramatic fashion on Thursday.

After Scranton rallied from its doubles deficit, the match came
down to first and third singles, where the Royals dropped the first
set in both and found themselves in second-set tiebreaks in both.
Senior Tim
McGurrin (Clarks Summit, Pa./Scranton Preparatory)
rallied to force a third set against Drew senior Raul Smego (Ponce,
Puerto Rico/Academia Cristo Rey), who also entered unbeaten in
conference play. McGurrin jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third
set, then held on to defeat Smego, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, to draw the
Royals even at 4.

One court over, senior Joe
Morra (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Preparatory) also found
himself in a third set showdown against Drew senior Djedjy Hill
(Haiti/Rancocas Valley Regional) after winning a second-set
tiebreak. With both players battling cramps, Morra outlasted Hill,
4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, to give the Royals the victory and end the
Rangers’ historic run.

After falling in that early deficit in doubles play, Scranton
(5-4, 4-1 Landmark) rallied to get within 4-3 to set up the heroics
by McGurrin and Morra. Junior David
Teres (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon) and senior
Mike Pannone (Maplewood, N.J./Seton Hall
Preparatory) got things started with wins at No. 2 and No.
4 singles, respectively. Teres defeated freshman Hunter Lathrop
(South Londonberry, Vt./Stratton Mountain School), 6-1, 6-4,
handing Lathrop his first conference loss of the year. Pannone
rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over senior Matt Imbo (Islip,
N.Y./Islip).

The win moves the Royals a half-game behind the Rangers in the
standings, but more importantly, it means if they can win their
final two Landmark matches, the Royals will have home-court
advantage in next week’s conference playoffs. Scranton needs
a win in one of its two final matches to secure a playoff
berth.

Scranton returns to the courts on Saturday, April 20, when it
travels to Kings Point, N.Y. to take on Merchant Marine Academy at
1 p.m. The Royals will conclude the regular season when they host
Goucher on Sunday, April 21, at 1 p.m. at Royal Courts.